I spent 45 minutes sitting around in my jammies doing my Christmas shopping today. It’s a first that I’ve essentially done it all online and I have to say, it was painless and lovely. Why have I not been doing it this way all along?
If you’re a regular reader, you probably know that my daughter and son-in-law are living in the UK right now. After a trip to the post office to mail them some things they were missing from back home that cost me over $200 in postage and after being told that some of the packages wouldn’t make it there for 2-3 MONTHS (yes you read that correctly), I realized that something like Amazon UK was the way to go.
Then I was given a Secret Santa partner who also lives in the UK and had only about 10 days to get a gift to her in time for our virtual office party. I could buy her a small gift (as in small in size and lightweight) for about $20 and then spend about $85 mailing it to her by priority post. OR I could order her a $20 gift from Amazon UK and have them wrap it and ship it for me for only $10. Bet you can guess what I did there!
I think there will always be a few gifts that I buy from a real brick and mortar store. I do a lot of year round shopping as I come across something (especially at local boutiques or artisan shops that I encounter in my travels) and know that it’s perfect for someone on my list. And sometimes I just like to be able to see the items right in front of me, look them over, touch them – I mean, there is a certain sensory experience to picking out and getting a gift for someone you care about.
But this online shopping has its merits – no going out in those nasty traffic snarls (nearly got hit three times today), no braving bad weather, no fighting the crowds (some of them are mean out there!), no wrapping gifts (I like it for a while but after a few, I’m over it!), and no having to lug it all to the post office (for those who are far away) and pay all that postage. I like it.
What about you? Do you do online shopping? If you do, other than Amazon, let’s start a discussion here about your favourite places to shop online!
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